100 Best Encores (6CD Box Set)

CD 1: Violin Encores The first disc opens with the exciting Ronde des lutins by Bazzini, played with dazzling virtuosity by Maxim Vengerov, and includes favourite encore pieces by Paganini, Kreisler, Massenet, Sarasate and many others performed by such artists as Nigel Kennedy, Kyung Wha Chung, Yehudi Menuhin, Michael Rabin and Augustin Dumay.

CD 2: Piano Encores The programme includes many popular pieces by Chopin, Beethoven, Liszt, Grieg, Rachmaninov and Satie performed superbly by some of the world's greatest pianists, including Martha Argerich, Maurizio Pollini, Leif Ove Andsnes, Alexis Weissenberg and Alicia de Larrocha.

CD 3: Solo Encores This disc covers works written for many different instruments including flute, clarinet, trumpet, cello, harp, double bass, marimba, alto saxophone and classical accordion. It ends with a spectacular performance of Widor's famous Toccata played on the organ of Coventry Cathedral by Wayne Marshall.

CD 4: Orchestral Encores The programme here concentrates on the showpieces which are often heard as encores at orchestral concerts. These include spectacular works such as the Polonaise from Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky and the Festival Overture by Shostakovich, as well as fun pieces like Lumbye's Copenhagen Steam Railway Galop and Johann Strauss's Leichtes Blut Polka. The world's best orchestras are heard under the batons of a galaxy of great conductors, including Herbert von Karajan, Andr' Previn, Klaus Tennstedt, Sir Simon Rattle and Mariss Jansons.

CD 5: Song Encores This CD presents a number of favourite encores that singers frequently choose to end their recitals. The artists here are led by those doyens of the recital platform: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Victoria de los Angeles and Dietrich Fischer Dieskau, plus other stars of the concert hall like Dame Janet Baker, Barbara Hendricks and Ian Bostridge. There is also an appearance by Sarah Brightman in the folksong 'Sweet Polly Oliver', and Dame Felicity Lott and Ann Murray sing the hilarious Cats' Duet.

CD 6: Opera Encores The final disc is mainly operatic and comes from various live recordings where the enthusiastic applause of the audience adds enormously to the atmosphere. The singers include Placido Domingo, June Anderson, Alfredo Kraus, Natalie Dessay, Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu, and listeners will find it hard to resist not joining Domingo in the Brindisi from La traviata at the end.